Metro travel is to be made safer as part of the new plan

A 20-strong team has been recruited to tackle fare cheats on the massive Tyne and Wear Metro system, which serves the cities of Newcastle and Sunderland.

Newcastle-based St James' Security will be paid to travel the system, despite bids from other companies and an in-house bid from unions and management.

A spokesman foe Metro operator Nexus said the move would result in 40% of passengers will have their tickets checked on a regular basis.

The squad will operate in the busiest stations across the network and will boost the team of Metro ticket inspectors already working.

The move is part of Project 39 million, which aims to persuade an extra 2.3 million passengers on to the Metro this year.

A Nexus spokesman said: "We have listened to our customers and what they told us was they wanted to see more staff on the Metro.

"They will clamp down on fraud and the small minority of people who regularly fare evade."

The Project 39 million scheme includes more security cameras

Nexus wants to reclaim �1m over the next 12 months from the anti-fraud strategy.

The spokesman added: "We estimate 75% of all Metro journeys start or end in one of the big 15 stations.

"By creating a flexible strategy we will check four out of 10 tickets and drive fare evaders off the Metro."

A spokesman for St James' Security, said: "We very much look forward to the challenging work in partnership with Nexus. It is a brilliant opportunity for us."

The Project 39 Million programme involves an investment of �7m of CCTV cameras to help passengers feel safer.

They also promise to provide better information for customers and an improved timetable.

In March the Metro operators said they believed that the year-old Sunderland extension was starting to get more passengers on board.

The �100m Wearside extension failed to meet expected passenger numbers when it opened in 2002.

Twelve new stations were added on the nine-mile extension line, which runs from the existing Pelaw Station in South Tyneside.